PHOTOS: A coal seam fire that has been putting up minimal smoke since last week was carried into surrounding grass, tundra and light spruce by strong winds early Thursday morning. The Popovich Creek Coal Seam Fire (#067) does not pose a threat to the nearby community of Healy and there are currently no values at risk. The fire is in the same area where numerous coal seam fires have sprung up in previous years. The most recent one was last year's Louise Creek Coal Seam Fire. Division of Forestry & Fire Protection Fairbanks Area Helitack responded on Thursday afternoon with three firefighters and started bucket work on the estimated 1,036-acre fire. The DOF Pioneer Peak Hotshot crew and a dozer are also currently responding. They will improve and reinforce existing firelines from previous fires in the area to minimize the spread of the fire.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: We're approaching one year since a deadly fire at a construction site in Charlotte's SouthPark neighborhood. Anchor Erica Bryant spoke with some of the heroes who were right in the middle of it. It's an interview that none of the firefighters really wanted to do, mainly because May 18, 2023 is a day that's hard for them to think about. Yet they do — a lot. "I'd say probably not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about it, or thought about something that happened during it that I could have done differently or done better," Charlotte Fire Captain Mike Watts said. "What-ifs is a big thing." Bryant asked the firefighters to take her back through the day. "That fire specifically — and you could see it citywide pretty much. I mean wherever you were in the city at the time, you could see that fire," Division Chief Dave Farnum said.  

VIDEO: Firefighters from agencies across the western region are competing for the top seed at the 2024 West Regional Classic Firefighter Challenge. The Sparks Fire Department and Sparks Firefighters Local 731 will host the event, also known as "The Toughest 2 Minutes in Sports." "It's a qualifier for Worlds. This is a significant event in the fire service. It promotes fitness and showcases to the public the physical demands of the job," said Sparks Fire Department Chief Walt White. A job that entails high demands and danger. "It takes a lot of work, a lot of effort. We all try to be the best we can always," said Sparks firefighter Mike Szopa. "You need to have the best day of your career on somebody else's worst day of their life," added Captain Jeff Wright, who made the trip from Irving, Texas.  

PHOTOS: A piece of Leetsdale fire department history has made its way back to the borough. Mary Jane Wasco, daughter of the late Fire Chief Charlie Wasco, donated the bell of a 1937 Ahrens-Fox fire truck that was driven by her father for many years. She presented it to council and borough firefighters May 9. "Hopefully it can serve in some way as a memorial to all those men and women through the years who have served Leetsdale as a fire person," Wasco said. "I'm happy that it's coming back to where it started, with the borough." The chrome bell was on the passenger side of the truck and was struck when crews would respond to emergencies. Most trucks in the 1930s did not have the loud sirens like more modern vehicles and those in operation today. Wasco said her father bought the truck from the borough in the early 1970s.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Emergency crews in southeast Texas were clearing debris and assessing flooding early Friday after powerful storms tore through the state, killing at least four people and knocking out power to nearly 800,000 customers. The winds — which reached 100 mph — were reminiscent of 2008's Hurricane Ike, one of the costliest natural disasters in American history, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a briefing Thursday. A widespread 3 to 6 inches of rain fell north of Houston, with one of the highest totals reaching around 6.9 inches in 24 hours near Romayor. The storm also battered New Orleans overnight, with severe thunderstorms and flooding possible again Friday, according to the local branch of the National Weather Service.